Stikkord: Fomadon

Trying out a Konica Autoreflex TC (Part3)

As you have seen through my previous posts, I have been playing around with a Konica Autoreflex TC lately, doing different styles and types of photography with it and different films. Some days ago, I took it out once again with a roll of Fomapan 100and a yellow and a graded orange filter. I went for subtle snowy shapes in nature to test out both the sharpness of the lens, and to once again try the Fomapan 100. Over 2020, I shot many rolls of Fomapan 100 to test it out and get familiar with that film, and I must say that Fomapan 100 is a film I really like shooting, and that I find to give very fine grain when developed in Kodak X-tol at stock level, and that I get very nice results with it for most of my photography. However, this is my first test of this in snowy conditions.

Konica Autoreflex TC w 50mm Hexanon f1,8 lens w yellow filter. f11 1/125th Fomapan 100@100 Fomadon Excel 1+0

I did not have Kodak Xtol at this moment, because I’ve recently had two batches that split. I initially thought this was my mistake and that I hadn’t mixed it properly or made some other mistake with it; however, after some research online, I got leads about a bad batch of Xtol that had this issues. The date I bought the two bags of powder correlated well with the production and estimated sell-dates of the problem batch. Even though the two batches didn’t cause me any issues, I have not bought Xtol for a while. I will, however buy another batch some time soon. But I had a few bags of Fomadon Excel left, which is basically Foma’s take on the Kodak Xtol.

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Previously, I used to have Xtol in the spring, summer and autumn-time, when I shoot most film, and Fomadon Excel in wintertime, when I shoot less. When handeled properly, I cannot see difference between negatives developed with Excel and Xtol. One difference though, is that Fomadon Excel can be slightly more challenging to mix. I have found that mixing it as you wold mix Ilford Chemistry, with warmer water, makes the powder dissolve better and easier, and that is how I mix Fomadon Excel. For this particular process, I also used Foma Fixer and Foma Stop bath as well. So this is a all around Fomapan Process.

Konica Autoreflex TC w 50mm Hexanon f1,8 lens Fomapan 100@100 Fomadon Excel 1+0

All in all, I am very happy with these images. They were taken very quickly whenever I saw something that I found worthy of shooting, and I find that they make the sky come forward in a very pleasant way.

Trying out 645

For a while I have been looking to buy a 645 camera. Preferably a SLR of some kind and many different options have been considered. Both Mamiya 645, Pentax 645 and even some Hasselblads. However, some days ago, I came across a very reasonably priced Zenza Bronica ETR. I have had my experiences with Bronica. I once owned an Zenza Bronica S2 fitted with a beautiful Nikkor 80mm lens. I only sold this because it had the habit of giving me half frames a few times on each roll and I cannot afford wasting expensive film and possibly losing a strong shot due to a camera issue.

I contacted the seller on the ETR and we came to an agreement and got a deal together. Very reasonable and rather quick.

Zenza Bronicas are beautifully designed Japanese cameras, with incredibly sharp lenses and a rugged feel to it. The camera is heavy, about two kilos, and you can get them in different configurations. Later ones are more plasticky and lighter, but I don’t really mind the weight, as I often shoot on a tripod. My ETR came with a prism, eye-level viewfinder and a razor sharp 50mm f2,8 Zenzanon lens.

I went out the other day to test the camera, and I made some really beginner mistakes.

Fist of all, I used the wrong film. I loaded the camera with a Fomapan 100, because I had one lying around about to expire, and I found I could «waste that one» if the camera did not work properly. The biggest problem was that I went out on a very dull and overcast day where there was not really sufficient light to shoot 100 ISO. Because of this I had to shoot around 1/30th of a second, and I forgot to bring a tripod. A lot of motion blur later, I decided to discard the test and go out for another go with a different film.

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From my second attempt of testing this camera.

This second time, I went out in the morning as the fog was lifting from the lake (Mjøsa) and went for a short session Trying to capture some magic. Wiser than last time, I loaded the camera with a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400, a film I don’t use that often but had lying around and went down to the docks in Gjøvik.

Before I went out, I had a coffee. I documented my coffee with an image taken at f2,8, maximum aperture at 1/15th of a second.

Zenza Bronica ETR w 50mm Zenzanon 2,8. Kodak Tri-X400@400 Fomadon Excel 1+1 9 minutes

I am really surprised with the smooth bokeh the Zenzanon lens gives me, and I find that the Tri-X grain and contrast gives the image a really nice tone. A tone I don’t often find with Tri-X as I find it a bit to punchy in the contrasts for my taste. Similarly I like the way it handled my location by the lake.

Zenza Bronica ETR w 50mm Zenzanon 2,8. Kodak Tri-X400@400 Fomadon Excel 1+1 9 minutes

I appreciate the tones I got in the picture of the anchor. Shot at f4, it gave me a perfect depth of field for this image and the Tri-X tones gives the smooth tones. I also love the way the background disappears into the fog behind.

In a slightly under exposed image of some birds fleeing away from the Norwegian winter which is approaching in a months time. I find this image to be a bit «gritty» but I will attempt to make a beautiful print of this image in the darkroom.

All in all, I am very happy with my new Zenza Bronica ETR, as well as my expedition into 645 format, and will shoot it regularly in the future.

Stay tuned

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